Half Moon Bay man faces weapons, drug charges after pursuit

A Half Moon Bay man arrested in connection with a high-speed chase in San Mateo County last weekend was arraigned Monday on multiple felony charges, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Roberto Sonoqui Carrillo, 30, pleaded not guilty to 10 felony weapon and drug charges in San Mateo County Superior Court and was ordered to return on May 8 for a preliminary hearing, according to the district attorney’s office.

Carrillo was arrested on Saturday, his birthday, following a high-speed chase with the California Highway Patrol in the Half Moon Bay area.

A second suspect, the alleged driver in the pursuit, remains at large and has not been identified, CHP Officer Art Montiel said Tuesday.

The chase began around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when an officer on patrol on state Highway 1 near Miramontes Point Road in Half Moon Bay pulled over a silver Mercedes SUV because it was missing its front license plate, Montiel said.

The vehicle yielded to the right, but took off as soon as the officer stepped out of the cruiser, Montiel said.

The officer chased the car on Highway 1 at speeds of up to 90 mph and followed the car as it turned on Verde Road.

Montiel said the officer watched as the occupants tossed two pistols and a high-powered rifle out of the car’s window.

A passenger in the car — later identified as Carrillo — jumped out of the car in the area of Verde and Purisima Creek roads and tried to hide in an adjacent field.

The officer stopped to take Carrillo into custody while the CHP’s fixed-wing airplane followed the car, Montiel said.

Montiel said the airplane followed the car back to Highway 1, where it turned onto Miramontes Point Road and ended up at the Moonridge residential community, where the driver jumped out of the vehicle and entered a residence.

Officers from the Pacifica Police Department’s canine unit and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted CHP officers in the search, but the suspect slipped away.

The outstanding suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a light complexion, slim build and a clean-shaven face.

He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and a black baseball hat, Montiel said.